Newspapers / Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.) / Jan. 15, 1937, edition 1 / Page 20
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<4 TALKING ROGUES’ GALLERY ■foaid-lhe DRIVE agaimt CROOKS By Thomas M. Johnson Detective bill morris fidg eted in his seat in the “Holly wood Palace.” Couldn’t Pleas ant City’s leading movie thea ter find a better program than this? That gangster picture, now. with the chase—old stuff! Then Detective Morris became tense. Before his eyes burned, white-hot. these words: “This man is in Pleasant City now, today, this minute! He’s wanted for murder! Get him!” Then he saw the words give way to an amazing scene. Onto a sort of small stage, with back-drop and wings, bril liantly lighted, slouched a man's figure, head bowed. “Heads up!” snapped a commanding voice. “Now, let's hear you talk!” The lifting head revealed a rat-like youthful face, whose right side twitched spasmodically. The mouth opened, and a husky voice answered: “You cops tryin’ to make a movie Bctor outa me?” “Sure,” replied the louder voice. “This is your screen test. Now, walk for the ladies and gents. Sit down. Get up. Smile. Light a cigaret.” The felon was plainly reluctant, yet he obeyed those and a dozen other com mands. And, obeying, he betrayed himself by speech and mannerism. When he had finished, the audience knew him, almost as if they had seen him in the flesh. And the deep voice said: “The man you have just seen is Young Shippey, alias Tough Guy, wanted for the murder of Willa Hr' The talking rogues' gallery in use, showing how talkies are made of a crook. Trooper Dalton (left) conducts the whole performance with a i control button In his left hand. Schmidt on April 1 last. Note how when walking he limps on the left side; not how when frightened or excited his face twitches; note that when light ing a cigaret he holds it between thumb and forefinger. This man hangs around poolrooms. He is in Pleasant City now today, this minute! You may bump into him when you leave this theater! Look for him! Five thousand dollars re ward!” I)ETECTIVE BILL MORRIS shot out * of his chair, and up the aisle. Through the smoke-laden air of the Sellhurst pool parlors, he made out familiar figures of old habitues. He looked more closely. That gangling figure, circling the green-topped table —walking with a limp! The defective edged nearer. His el bow touched a rack of cues. He looked at it for a moment, and then leaned against it, hands behind him. Down fell a cue, striking the floor with a clatter. Everyone in the room turned. jjjniH33 BHBfiKate?’ startled. The detective came forward to pick up the cue. ‘Sorry,” he apologized genially. “Musta scared you to death, fella, way your face’s twitching. Have a cigaret?” Nodding, the stranger accepted the cigaret. The detective offered no match. The stranger reached toward his coat pocket, holding the cigaret between thtimb and forefinger. He looked up. and his face was convulsed. He faced what seemed an accusing eye, round and black, that bored into him. Be hind it was a clutching trigger-finger. “C’mon, Shippey!” said Detective Bill Morris. 'T’HAT story never happened, I’ll ad mit. In fact, it’s imaginary. But 1 do believe it is a look into the future, and probably not the remote future. For that is the way the Talking Rogues Gallery, newest device in the battle against crime, works. It takes that val uable police device, the line-up, hither to the most effective means of sight Shlli He faced what seemed an accusing eye, round and black, that bored into him. Behind it was a clutching trigger finger. “C’mon, Shippey,” said Detective Bill Morris. identification by criminals, a long step further. Now, with the aid of science, thou sands of police officers the country over can be present at the line-up of the country’s most dangerous criminals. This is made possible by a simplified method of taking talking motion pic tures of criminals. The idea started with Col. H. Nor man Schwarzkopf, until recently head of the New Jersey State Police. He collaborated with engineers of the Photophone Division of the Radio Cor poration of America Manufacturing Co lne., and the J M. Wall Machine Co. They developed apparatus and meth ods that enable one or two police offi cers, with little special training, to re cord how a prisoner looks, acts and talks, so that his looks, actions and speech can be shown again anywhere, by a portable or standard 35-mm. sound motion picture projector, on 35- mm. or 16-mm. film. There are two microphones—one for the policeman master of ceremonies, one for the criminal—an amplifier and a dynamic loud-speaker powerful enough for big auditoriums. The ap paratus can project pictures up to nine by 12 feet, from a 2000-foot film—a continuous Talking Rogues’ Gallery show 20 minutes long. Such a film could be used, Colonel Schwarzkopf points out, in two ways. First, to officers unable to attend a sin gle line-up, old-style. Second, as in the imaginary episode of Detective Bill Morris, in movie theaters of a commu nity where a criminal was known to be, or even for a Dillinger or a Karpis, all over the country. CUCH a showing would send thousands of men, women, and children from movie theaters to the street, as ama teur detectives, seeking a man with a twitching face or whatnot mannerism. Does that seem like a detective mag azine pipe-dream? Well then, in Tren ton, four criminals were exhibited. Since then, the only one who has been “wanted” was recaptured through that single exhibition. Also, a squad of Trenton police saw a motion picture study of a “criminal” supplied by Commissioner William J. Ellis. They saw him stripped the the waist to show muscular development, scars and tattoo marks; saw his head profiled against a standard Bertillon chart to measure accurately the charac teristics of face and head. “This man is within a square mile of here,” the police were told. “Go get him!” From crowded city streets, within 15 minutes, they picked him—though he had changed his clothes. Such achievements thrilled world prominent detectives assembled in Trenton. Some of them predict that Talking Rogues’ Galleries will eventu ally be operated by all large police de partments. But beyond is a vision of even greater import. All these local Talking Rogues’ Galleries will photograph dan gerous criminals, as now they are photographed for the relatively lifeless “still” rogues’ galleries. Then they will send the negative film to the Depart ment of Justice in Washington. The G-men will make prints, and distribute them, to police departments or movie theaters.
Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.)
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Jan. 15, 1937, edition 1
20
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